Morning Read: Mixed Economic Data, Mixed Market Reaction

By Brendan Conway

Market check: Index futures are muted after a batch of so-so economic data. Thursday weekly employment figures showed 366,000 initial claims for jobless benefits in the latest week, a tick more than the 360,000 expected. Retailer sales reports were mixed,

Fund watch: Go read Dave Nadig’s piece at Index Universe about BlackRock’s (BLK) securities-lending lawsuit for an inside look at what funds get when the sponsor lends out a fund’s shares. Short version: Even when a fund company takes a big chunk of the revenues, it can still be beneficial to the shareholder. The one point not covered in the piece: Investors still bear the risk no matter who gets the revenue.

About Focus on Funds

As exchange-traded funds and other investing vehicles have ballooned in number, the task of figuring out what works well and what doesn’t has only gotten harder. Barrons.com’s Focus on Funds looks under the hood of ETFs, mutual funds and hedge funds for overlooked values, actionable ideas and the latest pitfalls for fund investors.

Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.